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Amy Fernandez sentenced to 12 months in prison

Amy Fernandez will be facing time in prison.In U.S. Federal Court on Wednesday afternoon, she received a sentence of 12 months in prison with three years of supervised release to follow. The sentence was issued by Judge Mary Lou Robinson.On Monday, Nov. 21, 2011, she pleaded guilty for one account of evading the reporting requirements and the regulations issued thereunder, structure, attempt to structure, and attempted to assist in structuring currency transactions with one or more domestic financial institutions. She was accused of purchasing 39 cashier's checks with United States currency in amounts of $3,000 or less pertaining to the structuring.Fernandez issued a statement to the court, saying that she was a mother of two sons and an upstanding citizen.“I feel that I am no harm or threat to the community,” she said.She will have to undergo an assessment once released and must report to a probation office within 72 hours of being released. She will not be allowed to open any lines of credit or have credit card accounts while on probation.Her lawyer said the court should consider that Fernandez has no prior criminal history and has never been in a court of law before. She and lawyer both said they feel she has been economically punished. It was also stated that she has been cooperative in making the forfeiture payments that have been issued to her up to this point.In February, the court announced that Fernandez would be required to pay $99,950 to the government after her sentencing. Fernandez, along with Francisco “Frank” Fernandez, Aaron Fernandez, Jose Luis Fernandez, Jr., and Thomas Salazar, were taken into custody on October 27, 2011 and were incarcerated in the Randall County Jail. The other four have pleaded guilty to drug offenses. Jose Fernandez was charged with prohibition of illegal gambling business. Francisco Fernandez was also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a drug offense. All four are still awaiting sentencing.